2 police officers did not follow SOP in Megan Khung's case, 1 resigned: Goh Pei Ming

Two police officers involved in the fatal child abuse case of four-year-old Megan Khung committed a serious breach "under pressure" by not escalating the case to a regular case review session, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming on Nov. 5.

Goh was speaking in parliament in response to questions about the lapses in the police's handing of the case.

Megan’s grandmother had lodged a police report in January 2020 after she was no longer able to contact Megan's mother, Foo.

After Megan died on Feb. 22, 2020 following months of abuse from Foo and her boyfriend, the investigating officer (IO) and her supervisor were investigated for a disciplinary offence of neglect of duty in relation to the case.

The IO has since resigned, while a financial penalty was imposed on the supervisor, who is currently still in the SPF.

Did not follow SOP

Goh said that after Megan’s death was uncovered in 2020, the police reviewed their handling of the case.

There were two rounds of police reports filed. The first report was made in January 2020 by Megan’s grandmother, said Goh.

In July 2020, further police reports were filed by Megan’s grandmother and father.

Goh said that the IO who dealt with the first police report assessed the case as one of child discipline with low safety concerns based on the information that she was presented with at that time.

After this, she tried to contact Megan's mother over the next two weeks, but could not reach her. She did not follow up beyond that as she was re-deployed for Covid-19 duties.

Normally, this would still be followed up on. However, the IO and her supervisor failed to follow established procedures to escalate the case to the regular case review sessions for monitoring and guidance, said Goh.

Officers were "under pressure"

Goh noted that police officers "often have to make difficult judgement calls every day in the course of their duties" and "when under pressure, mistakes can happen".

"In this case, the lapse arose because two officers, who were under pressure, did not follow the established operating procedure. It was a serious breach, and it resulted in a tragic outcome."

"The police will learn from this and reinforce procedures and training for its officers," Goh said.

Goh said the subsequent police reports concerning Megan were referred to the regular case review sessions, which ultimately led to the discovery of Megan’s death and arrest of the perpetrators.

The IO and her supervisor were both subjected to disciplinary action following an internal police investigation in 2020, said Goh.

The recent review panel has corroborated these findings, he added.

Priority given to missing vulnerable persons at higher risk

For missing person reports received by the police, priority is given to missing vulnerable persons who are at higher risk, such as young children, regardless of the duration they have been missing, said Goh.

Such cases are escalated to regular case review sessions with supervisors for monitoring and guidance, Goh noted.

Other internal controls for the follow up of cases include multiple levels of supervision and regular checks throughout the investigation.

It is also standard procedure for the police to work with other public agencies to locate the missing persons, and when necessary, to issue public appeals for assistance, Goh added.

Measures taken by police

In response to follow up questions, Goh explained that in 2022, the police introduced a training package for all frontline and investigation officers for family violence and child abuse cases, which will help them to recognise and escalate high-risk cases to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

In 2023, the police formed Family Violence Teams (FVTs) at all its land divisions which are focused on handling family violence cases, including child abuse cases.

Such FVTs receive specialised training on how to engage victims sensitively and work with other agencies, including MSF Protective Service on high risk cases.

For high-risk domestic violence cases with immediate safety concern, the police work with MSF’s around-the-clock Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT), which was launched in 2023.

DVERT officers are trained to conduct a professional assessment on-site and make urgent arrangements for the victims to be relocated or placed in alternative care for their safety, if necessary.

Goh said that to strengthen IOs’ efficiency and supervisory capabilities, the police have also harnessed technology for the review of cases.

For instance, this allows for the use of automatic notifications to IOs and their supervisors to complete time-sensitive tasks promptly.

Top image from MDDI/YouTube & Simon Khung's Instagram